David,
Regarding your item 2, we might also conclude that Jesus was speaking
specifically to the apostles, and that this does not apply to all believers.
The key is to identify the antecedent of "He" in verse 16, which I believe
to exclusively be the apostles.
Perry
David wrote:
2. Mark 16:16-20
(16) He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth
not shall be damned.
(17) And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they
cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
(18) They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it
shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall
recover.
(19) So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into
heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
(20) And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with
them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
How many Christians have believed and been baptized but have not seen any of
these signs follow them? Again, we either have to conclude that the concept
of faith as taught by Jesus is something greater than the popular concept of
it, or that Jesus was bearing false testimony here, or perhaps that this
passage only applies to the immediate believers to whom he spoke. I take
the position that faith is something more than what most people think faith
is.
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"Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you
ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org
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